Showcase concert Jan. 27 features small ensembles in Oak Ridge

When marking special dates on your new 2013 calendar, do not forget to include the Oak Ridge Community Band's Showcase concert scheduled on Sunday, Jan. 27, 3:30 p.m. at the historic Grove Theater Performing Arts Center. This concert traditionally attracts a large audience, so come early for good seating.

When marking special dates on your new 2013 calendar, do not forget to include the Oak Ridge Community Band's Showcase concert scheduled on Sunday, Jan. 27, 3:30 p.m. at the historic Grove Theater Performing Arts Center. This concert traditionally attracts a large audience, so come early for good seating.

Community Band musicians look forward every year to the Showcase program because it gives them and area musicians the opportunity to perform in small ensembles. Among the featured performing groups will be the Silver Winds Flute Choir making their fifth appearance in this annual event. Twelve flutists from Oak Ridge, Alcoa, Knoxville, and Maryville will be performing Kirk Vogel's "The Secret Language of Snow" and an entertaining piece titled "Flutes and Vegetables" by John Cohen.

Another very interesting and unique piece on the Showcase program is "Band Song" mostly composed and arranged by band member Janet Westbrook as the band's answer to "The Orchestra Song." This arrangement features 12 band members in brief solos and seven vocalists who sing solos pointing up a feature of each type of major band instrument and concluding as a full ensemble in one harmonious finale.

The Secret City Winds, with members Jean Box on flute, Cyndi Jeffers on oboe, Ardyce Lee on bassoon, Lynlee Robinson on clarinet, and Alex Wilson on French horn will be performing Shostakovich's "Polka" and Handel's "Suite in G Minor." Another ensemble playing in this concert will be the Oak Ridge Clarinet Choir, with members Morrie Bowden, Dave Greenwood, Barbara Gritzner, Susan Hall, Lisa Michaels, Patty Nunberg, Kerry Ramsey, Lynlee Robinson, Shantini Sega, and Janet Townsend, performing Bach's "Fugue in G Minor," Leo Delibes's "The Flower Duet" and another Delibes piece "Waltz."

Other groups performing in the Jan. 27 concert will be the Tanasi Winds Quintet, a percussion ensemble, a tuba-euphonium group, the Ultimate Brass ensemble, and clarinet soloist Morrie Bowden accompanied by the band as he plays a medley of Benny Goodman swing tunes.

Admission to the Showcase Concert is a modest $8 per adult and $6 for senior citizens and students, and there will be free refreshments in the lobby at the conclusion of the program.

The Oak Ridge Community Band is directed by Dale Pendley and assistant conductor Lisa Michaels. Persons who would like more information about the band can visit the band's website at www.orcb.org or call (865) 483-3044.